Debate Desk
Are America's Veterans Well Served by the VA as It Is Today?
The VA has dedicated staff and real strengths and also had a wait-list scandal; letting veterans choose private care when it falls short is sound.
The claim
Defenders say that the VA offers specialized care for the wounds of war, that many veterans are satisfied with it and that critics exaggerate its failures to push privatization.
The answer in three points
- The VA does much that is good, and the people who work there deserve credit. For conditions such as prosthetics, spinal injuries and post-traumatic stress, its expertise is high, and many veterans value its care.
- The system has also failed. In 2014, reports revealed that staff in Phoenix and elsewhere kept secret waiting lists to hide long delays, and some veterans died waiting. A government monopoly has little pressure to fix problems, and accountability for those responsible was slow.
- Choice is the answer. The Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 and the VA MISSION Act of 2018 let eligible veterans see private doctors when the VA cannot provide timely care or is far away. Veterans earned their care, and it should follow them, as the GI Bill did for education. Conservatives disagree on how far to go, and most agree that the VA should remain strong.
The promise made to those who served is that their country will take care of them. Keeping that promise means measuring the results, listening to veterans, and giving them options when the system falls short.
The numbers
- The VA Office of Inspector General reported in 2014 that the Phoenix VA Health Care System had a secret waiting list and long delays, according to its report.
- The VA MISSION Act of 2018 created the Veterans Community Care Program, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
- The Department of Veterans Affairs reported that community care accounted for a growing share of veterans' appointments in the years after the act, according to its annual reports.
What they will say next
"Private care costs more." In some cases it does, and in others it may reduce costs by cutting delays. The comparison should be based on data.
"Choice will drain the VA." The VA can compete on quality, and some veterans will prefer its care. A system that is good has nothing to fear.
"Veterans want to be with other veterans." Many do, and they can choose the VA. The choice is theirs.
"Staff shortages are the problem." They are a major issue, and flexible hiring and pay are part of the answer, together with the choice of care outside.
We owe veterans the best care we can give, and the system should serve them first.
"The VA scores well in studies on quality." In some measures it does, and veterans of every stripe can name excellent VA clinicians. The case for choice does not depend on denying that. It rests on the fact that no single system serves everyone everywhere, and that a veteran who waits months should have another option.